Nursery mess deepens, stay on fresh draw of lots

HC says no admission until March 24, next date of hearing

The High Court said no admission shall take place until the next date of hearing on March 24.(PTI)

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a stay on fresh draw of lots being conducted by schools for admission to nursery classes and asked the city government to furnish all requisite data and details on the issue relating to unaided private schools in Delhi.

The High Court said no admission shall take place until the next date of hearing on March 24.

Blocking the fresh draw of lots for all seats, a division bench of acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul said, “The draw of lots shall not take place. No admission will be made until the next date of hearing.”

The court was hearing an appeal of some parents, who had challenged the High Court’s single-judge order on March 6 asking all schools to conduct a fresh draw of lots for nursery admission. The order had said all candidates, with equal marks, shall be considered equal and their admission would be determined by a draw of lots.

The parents had filed an appeal stating that their wards had already been selected through the pre-existing admission process, but after the single judge’s order on March 6, the entire process would have to be repeated. The parents told the court that after being selected once, a second draw of lots would significantly decrease their wards’ probability of being selected.

The bench directed the Delhi government to furnish all details relating to the nursery admission in unaided private schools and also asked the government to clarify its stand.The ongoing dispute began on February 27, when the Delhi government issued a notification scrapping the five points awarded to applicants in the interstate transfer category. The notification came after a group of parents approached the High Court saying “not genuine” candidates were claiming these points.

On March 6, Justice Manmohan ordered a fresh draw of lots for all seats as the allotment had been affected by the nullification of the interstate transfer category points.

Schools, however, expressed outrage at the continuing confusion. “There is only one word to describe the situation we find ourselves in: chaos. Even courts are not sure about what should be done. Everyone will now wait for the March 24 for a fresh order. Every hearing gives rise to new concerns, and I think it is high time that a definite solution is reached,” S K Bhattacharya, president, Action Committee of Unaided Private Schools, said.